Statement by H. E. Mr. Akio SUDA

Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Japan

to the Conference on Disarmament

Geneva, 10 February 2011

(Negative Security Assurances)

I would like to briefly state Japan’s basic position on the agenda item concerning negative security assurances (NSAs).

On signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1970, Japan, as a non-nuclear-weapon State, emphasized in its official statement that, “the nuclear-weapon States must not have recourse to use of nuclear weapons or threaten to use such weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States.” This position remains unchanged, and Japan lends its basic support to the concept of negative security assurances.

In order to be assured of this, and to advance nuclear disarmament, it is fundamentally important that all states possessing nuclear weapons reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their national security strategies.  It should be noted that this is one of the steps that the nuclear-weapon States are called upon to engage in under Action 5 of the Final Document of the last NPT Review Conference.

We should recognize, in this connection, that negative security assurances can make a significant contribution to reducing the role of nuclear weapons. 

NSAs are indeed the legitimate interest of non-nuclear weapon States.  Nuclear-weapon States should make their existing NSA pledges credible to the rest of the world and should provide stronger NSAs to non-nuclear-weapon States that comply with the NPT.  Moreover, once nuclear-weapon-free zones are established upon ratification of protocols by nuclear-weapon States, parties to such agreements will have a legally-binding assurance.

NSAs have long been on the agenda, and the CD should further undertake practical and substantive discussions to enhance their credibility and effectiveness.